Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday acknowledged there were "some complications" pertaining to the fencing of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border but said that the matter was being discussed with the Islamic Emirate government.
“We are not silent. We have fenced the border (with Afghanistan), and it will continue,” Qureshi said in response to a question.
“Afghanistan is our brotherly and friendly country. Some quarters want to unnecessarily raise this issue, which is not in Pakistan’s interest,” he went on to say, reiterating that the dispute is being handled through diplomatic channels.
Meanwhile, Kabul considers the recent tensions minimal and local and says that the Islamic Emirate does not want to escalate tensions with neighboring countries over such small issues.
“We don’t want our relations to be strained with neighboring countries over such small issues. We will work together to prevent such incidents in the future,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.
In recent weeks, videos have been posted on social media in which Islamic Emirate forces in Nangarhar, Kunar and Nimroz provinces destroyed the foundations of Pakistani barbed wire fences and warned that if Pakistan does not stop building them, there will be retaliation.
In the meantime, political analysts share different opinions on the issue.
“Pakistan is trying to escalate the conflict of the line so that it can use the opportunity to recognize the Durand Line officially, at a time when Afghanistan is in a state of economic crisis and under sanctions,” said Ahmad Khan Andar, a former member of the military.
The issue of fencing along the Durand Line has been a point of contention between Kabul and Islamabad for previous governments as well.
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